UK-based charity the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research (DHT) has announced grants totalling more than £720,000 for research projects that address bipolar disorder, cardiovascular disease, cystic fibrosis, motor-neuron disease, rabies and schizophrenia.
The projects, to be launched this year at seven leading universities across the UK, are designed to further the understanding and treatment of a broad range of diseases while at the same time developing methods to reduce the number of animals used in research, the DHT noted.
Specifically, they aim to
• Improve understanding of nerve-muscle interaction in motor-neuron disease (Cranfield University)
• Develop and test devices for use in the treatment of cardiovascular disease (Dundee University)
• Develop a plant-based product to help prevent rabies (St. George’s, University of London)
• Improve understanding of brain activity in schizophrenia (Nottingham University)
• Enhance gene-therapy methods in cystic fibrosis (Imperial College, London)
• Improve understanding of pharmacological mechanisms in bipolar disorder (Royal Holloway, University of London)
• Develop humane techniques using MEG (magnetoencephalography) scanning (Aston University)
The project durations range from a one-year pilot (Cranfield University) to three years (Dundee, St. George’s, Nottingham, Imperial, Royal Holloway).
